You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them ontime (no later than Sunday, January 18 at or before 12:01am). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0. You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammer and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
- Queen's Garden is a one woman show. The main character and narrator is Brenda Jean, a Pake, Buddahead, Chicano, and Haole: Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, and Scots. It opens on the neighborhood in L.A., specifically an island called the Westside. The other characters in the play are Kali, her first boyfriend, Aunti Mary, his mother and Queen of the Westside, Smoke, Khali’s best friend, Sherry, a white girl who befriends Brenda, Hai, a vientamese FOB, and Brenda’s family. The play centers around various large events in her life from age 13 to early 20’s.
2. What is the intrusion?
- Brenda and Kali break up, and Brenda goes away to college. He wants her to be hiss wife on the Westside, but she would rather get out of the Westside and be more in the world. In her eyes, Kali is in the way of what she wants, so she has to move past him. This sets the dramatic action by setting them each on separate paths and causing further drama each time Kali shows back up in Brenda’s life.
3. What is the unique factor?
- Brenda now sees her hometown as a place for shootings and LAPD helicopter surveillance, causing her to reminisce on the old days.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
- Whether Kali and Brenda will end up together is a prevalent dramatic question throughout the play, but also what will happen to Kali? What will happen to Brenda? Will the racial tension of the Westside ever conclude?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
- Info known to all – Sherry broke up with Justin, Kali sold Smoke out to the DEA- Info known to only one character – Kali was raped in the tiger cage by the man who was the only reason he stayed alive
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
- Because this is a life story, there are many important theatrical moments. One of the first is when Brenda’s high school is taken over by Black Panthers and erupts in racial tensions. The quad is full of whites and blacks, fighting each other. Brenda must walk through, flashing her two signs to each race, demonstrating her racial ambiguity and mixing pot of heritage.
- Another important theatrical moment is at the end, when Smoke’s boys and Kali’s boys fight in Aunti Mary’s garden. She is holding red roses, and Sherry and Smoke’s son shoots her in cold blood, believing the battle is about race. “That’s what this is all about, right?” Dreamer asks, and it becomes obvious that the motivation for the violence has never been clear, that racial violence is still prevalent on the westside, and that even the younger generation has not moved past this. Nothing has changed since Brenda was in high school. It is so theatrical because Brenda describes in detail the roses falling to the ground, the death of the queen of the Westside.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
- Violence, Race, Poverty, Family, Culture, Money, Asian-Americans, Drugs, Education
8. What does the narrator want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
- Brenda wants to get out of the Westside, to be “more”.
- Me against myself. Brenda is torn between her heritage and her want for a new life
- Me against other individuals. Brenda struggles against Kali the entirety of the play. As soon as he shows up her wants are often thrown to the breeze to include him in her life again. And although her parents are more supportive of her decisions than she ever expects, they – with the fall of Dave’s pharmacy – are ultimately the reason she returns to Westside to teach.
- Me against Society. It is in the same way she struggles against individuals that Brenda struggles against the Westside. It is embedded in her, it is part of her culture and ultimately where she came from. It is hard for her to get away from her origin, despite it obviously pulling her into violence and heartbreak like it does with so many others (ex. Sherry, Judy)
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
- I think one of the largest images in the play is Aunti Mary as the Queen of the Westside. It helps us, the readers, understand the title and ultimately hints at the ending. It is in Aunti Mary’s abundant garden that she dies, and the largest fit of violence yet breaks out. Aunti Mary being the person who first introduced Kali to Brenda being incredibly important
- Also her roses, spilled against the ground, symbolizing blood.
- Hai’s teapot being shattered by Kali, an image of how Kali broke Brenda’s peace and stability by arriving. He throws her life into pieces in much the same way.
- Smoke hitting Kali with a hot rock, symbolizing the future when Smoke would ultimately try to kill Kali
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
- Smoke and Kali – While they’re not blood brothers, Kali and Smoke are, for all purposes, brothers. They are loyal to each other until Kali is thrown in the Tiger cage, and while waiting for his friend, undergoes extreme torture. Smoke never arrives. Their broken brotherhood is an interesting and heartbreaking relationship examined in the play.
- Kali and Brenda – in the beginning Kali recites a song, calling Brenda “his future” in the lyrics. Whether they are together or not, it becomes obvious that their story is bonded together in a familial way. Brenda continues to care for Kali all the way to the end.
- Brenda to her family – Brenda’s parents are remarkable supportive of her leaving the Westside, but she ultimately comes back to help them when the pharmacy gets bought out. Through this we can see that she is loyal, over all, and family will always be extremely important to her.
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them ontime (no later than Sunday, January 18 at or before 12:01am). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammer and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. Describe the stasis in the play: where, when, who, what, etc. in a paragraph.
- Queen's Garden is a one woman show. The main character and narrator is Brenda Jean, a Pake, Buddahead, Chicano, and Haole: Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, and Scots. It opens on the neighborhood in L.A., specifically an island called the Westside. The other characters in the play are Kali, her first boyfriend, Aunti Mary, his mother and Queen of the Westside, Smoke, Khali’s best friend, Sherry, a white girl who befriends Brenda, Hai, a vientamese FOB, and Brenda’s family. The play centers around various large events in her life from age 13 to early 20’s.
2. What is the intrusion?
- Brenda and Kali break up, and Brenda goes away to college. He wants her to be hiss wife on the Westside, but she would rather get out of the Westside and be more in the world. In her eyes, Kali is in the way of what she wants, so she has to move past him. This sets the dramatic action by setting them each on separate paths and causing further drama each time Kali shows back up in Brenda’s life.
3. What is the unique factor?
- Brenda now sees her hometown as a place for shootings and LAPD helicopter surveillance, causing her to reminisce on the old days.
4. What is the dramatic question that should be answered by the end of the play?
- Whether Kali and Brenda will end up together is a prevalent dramatic question throughout the play, but also what will happen to Kali? What will happen to Brenda? Will the racial tension of the Westside ever conclude?
5. Provide an illustration of the two kinds of exposition that the play has in it.
- Info known to all – Sherry broke up with Justin, Kali sold Smoke out to the DEA- Info known to only one character – Kali was raped in the tiger cage by the man who was the only reason he stayed alive
6. Identify the most theatrical moment in the play and of what importance it seems to be.
- Because this is a life story, there are many important theatrical moments. One of the first is when Brenda’s high school is taken over by Black Panthers and erupts in racial tensions. The quad is full of whites and blacks, fighting each other. Brenda must walk through, flashing her two signs to each race, demonstrating her racial ambiguity and mixing pot of heritage.
- Another important theatrical moment is at the end, when Smoke’s boys and Kali’s boys fight in Aunti Mary’s garden. She is holding red roses, and Sherry and Smoke’s son shoots her in cold blood, believing the battle is about race. “That’s what this is all about, right?” Dreamer asks, and it becomes obvious that the motivation for the violence has never been clear, that racial violence is still prevalent on the westside, and that even the younger generation has not moved past this. Nothing has changed since Brenda was in high school. It is so theatrical because Brenda describes in detail the roses falling to the ground, the death of the queen of the Westside.
7. List some of the themes of the play.
- Violence, Race, Poverty, Family, Culture, Money, Asian-Americans, Drugs, Education
8. What does the narrator want and what are some obstacles that stand in the way of her getting what she wants?
- Brenda wants to get out of the Westside, to be “more”.
- Me against myself. Brenda is torn between her heritage and her want for a new life
- Me against other individuals. Brenda struggles against Kali the entirety of the play. As soon as he shows up her wants are often thrown to the breeze to include him in her life again. And although her parents are more supportive of her decisions than she ever expects, they – with the fall of Dave’s pharmacy – are ultimately the reason she returns to Westside to teach.
- Me against Society. It is in the same way she struggles against individuals that Brenda struggles against the Westside. It is embedded in her, it is part of her culture and ultimately where she came from. It is hard for her to get away from her origin, despite it obviously pulling her into violence and heartbreak like it does with so many others (ex. Sherry, Judy)
9. Describe some possible images in the play and how does the title help us understand the play.
- I think one of the largest images in the play is Aunti Mary as the Queen of the Westside. It helps us, the readers, understand the title and ultimately hints at the ending. It is in Aunti Mary’s abundant garden that she dies, and the largest fit of violence yet breaks out. Aunti Mary being the person who first introduced Kali to Brenda being incredibly important
- Also her roses, spilled against the ground, symbolizing blood.
- Hai’s teapot being shattered by Kali, an image of how Kali broke Brenda’s peace and stability by arriving. He throws her life into pieces in much the same way.
- Smoke hitting Kali with a hot rock, symbolizing the future when Smoke would ultimately try to kill Kali
10. Briefly define the family relationships that are examined in the play.
- Smoke and Kali – While they’re not blood brothers, Kali and Smoke are, for all purposes, brothers. They are loyal to each other until Kali is thrown in the Tiger cage, and while waiting for his friend, undergoes extreme torture. Smoke never arrives. Their broken brotherhood is an interesting and heartbreaking relationship examined in the play.
- Kali and Brenda – in the beginning Kali recites a song, calling Brenda “his future” in the lyrics. Whether they are together or not, it becomes obvious that their story is bonded together in a familial way. Brenda continues to care for Kali all the way to the end.
- Brenda to her family – Brenda’s parents are remarkable supportive of her leaving the Westside, but she ultimately comes back to help them when the pharmacy gets bought out. Through this we can see that she is loyal, over all, and family will always be extremely important to her.